NEIL KINNOCK FORTHCOMING GUEST ON 7TH MARCH
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WITH JACOB REES-MOGG AND ROSENA ALLIN-KHAN RESCHEDULED FOR 11TH APRIL
“our foremost satirical stand-up…Whatever your politics, you’ll find excellence here”
★★★★ Stephen Armstrong, The Sunday Times
“Possibly the best political comedy show on the Fringe”
★★★★★ Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph
“Forde is as gratifyingly sane as comedians come… smart, funny ideas”
★★★★ Dominic Maxwell, The Times
It was announced today, 4th March, that Matt Forde (Spitting Image, Have I Got News For You, The Last Leg) has added Gary Neville, Lisa Nandy and Tom Tugendhat to the upcoming guest line-up of his West End Political Party fortnightly residency at The Duchess Theatre, while the Christmas special with Jacob Rees-Mogg and Rosena Allin-Khan has been rescheduled for the 11th April.
On the 7th March, Matt is joined by the (previously announced) former leader of the Labour Party, jokingly described by Joe Biden as ‘my greatest ever speechwriter’, Neil Kinnock. When Kinnock became Labour leader, the party had been almost wiped out after standing on a hard left manifesto at the 1983 election. He undertook the hard work of making Labour more electable at huge personal cost, including a bruising war with Militant which he won, in part thanks to his inspirational 1985 Party Conference speech. He’ll have plenty to say about current direction of the party.
On the 21st March, Matt interviews the first Tory MP to confirm he’ll stand in the next leadership election, Tom Tugendhat. Tom is Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not afraid to challenge his own side, his speech against withdrawal from Afghanistan was one of the most powerful Parliamentary moments in recent years. He is currently calling for the government to impose tougher sanctions on Russia in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
On the 11th April, Matt will be joined by two of the biggest figures in British politics: Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg and Shadow Secretary of State for Mental Health Rosena Allin-Khan for the rescheduled (due to coronavirus) Christmas Special. Rees-Mogg’s appearance on the podcast in 2016 is one of the most talked about interviews in the show’s history, while Allin-Khan, tipped as a future Labour leader, stole the show at the 2019 Christmas Special.
On the 16th May, Matt talks to 2020 Labour Party Leadership contender Lisa Nandy. A true Labour star, Nandy rose quickly and was made a Shadow Minister after just 2 years as an MP. She has continued to rise since and served as Shadow Foreign Secretary under Keir Starmer before being made Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in the most recent reshuffle.
On the 13th June Matt is joined by Manchester United and England legend Gary Neville, who recently joined The Labour Party. A passionate political campaigner, he has been a vocal opponent of cutting Universal Credit. ‘Red Nev’ is often seen on Good Morning Britain criticising Boris Johnson and its rumoured he’d like to succeed Andy Burnham as Mayor of Greater Manchester.
After 70 sold out Political Party shows at Westminster’s The Other Palace, Matt Forde moved to the West End’s Duchess Theatre for a fortnightly residency in September 2021. Since 2013, Forde has interviewed political figures including Keir Starmer, Nicola Sturgeon, Sadiq Khan, Julia Gillard, Tony Blair, Nigel Farage, Tessa Jowell, Alan Johnson, Alastair Campbell, William Hague and George Osborne.
The UK’s leading political podcast has over 7 million downloads and is regularly included in iTunes’ Top 10 comedy podcasts. The British Podcast Award nominated show was recently listed by Mace Magazine as the Number 1 Political Podcast and by The i newspaper as one of the 50 Greatest Podcasts, adding to top podcast picks in the press from titles including The Observer, The Telegraph, The Guardian, Radio Times and ShortList.
Alongside The Political Party, Matt is currently on his biggest tour to date with brand-new stand-up show Clowns To The Left Of Me, Jokers To The Right. Over forty-three dates Matt is satirising the right, left and centre at theatres nationwide including the Bloomsbury Theatre on the 23rd April and a rescheduled (due to coronavirus) five-night run at the Soho Theatre from 14th-18th June in London.
Political Party and Clowns To The Left Of Me, Jokers To The Right tickets are available to buy now at mattforde.com
Matt has voiced and written for two series of the Spitting Image. Since returning in 2020 the show has delivered record subscribers for BritBox UK, the BBC and ITV created streaming platform, as well as picking up huge critical acclaim. Across official social media channels, series content has been hugely popular with over 200 million views globally, three No. 1 trending videos on YouTube and achieved praise across political the political divide.
Matt is currently co-hosting British Scandal with Alice Levine, a new audio series exploring the gripping stories, fascinating characters and critical questions arising on a journey through some of the biggest UK scandals and available on all major UK podcast platforms. The debut episode shot straight to the No 1 slot in the Apple podcast chart.
Matt’s first book Politically Homeless was listed by The Sunday Times as one the Best Political Books of 2020. The paperback was released in paperback by Quercus in May.
Matt has hosted four series of Unspun with Matt Forde on Dave, receiving several nominations at the Broadcast Digital Awards, and has numerous other broadcast credits including: Spitting Image (BritBox/ITV), Have I Got News For You (BBC One), The Royal Variety Performance (ITV), The Last Leg (Channel 4), Mock The Week (BBC Two), 8 out of 10 Cats (Channel 4), Hypothetical (Dave) Rory Bremner’s Coalition Report and Rory Bremner’s Election Report (BBC Two), Question Time (BBC One), This Week (BBC One), Newsnight (BBC Two) and Daily Politics (BBC Two). Matt currently presents Absolute Radio’s weekly Rock n Roll Football Show.
For more information and press tickets, please contact: Victoria Wedderburn at VWedderburn@avalonuk.com / 07557160139
What the Press Have Said About Matt Forde
“Is there a better political comic than Matt Forde currently working in the UK? I can’t think of another to touch him”
★★★★½ Jay Richardson, Chortle
“Matt Forde never fails with his state-of-the-nation address, a mix of bang-on-the-money political takedowns and spot-on impressions”
★★★★ Mark Wareham, Mail On Sunday
“Matt Forde is the consummate political comedian”
★★★★ Tim Cornwell, The Scotsman
